This chapter explores the challenges of creating a COVID memorial and the differing opinions on its necessity and meaning. It discusses the frustration and impact on the bereaved, and highlights the obstacles faced from both political parties. The chapter also discusses the unveiling of a prototype memorial in Los Angeles and the ongoing efforts to create a permanent national COVID memorial.
When a highway gets made, there’s a clear and consistent process for doing so. Not so, public memorials. From the Vietnam Wall to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, it’s always different. Sometimes a handful of concerned citizens get together and make it happen. Sometimes a nonprofit pushes for it, or a foundation. There’s usually a lot of activism, and a lot of fraught conversations – about design, location, the story it should tell about what happened, and who it affected.
And how does one memorialize such a vast and distributed tragedy like COVID-19, which was devastating physically but also divisive politically?
Don't Forget to Remember